By Living Room Realty, June 27, 2022
Working with buyers, a conversation that I have often is why is it so important to work with a good local lender. Buyers are often under the assumption that who the lender is shouldn’t matter and that’s just not the case.
What I often explain is that someone may go online and be wooed by the promise of low interest rates with a national bank or lender. Who doesn’t love low interest rates? What they don’t realize is that the rate is not everything. In this competitive market, a buyer also wants to consider the fees. They also want to consider that these lenders may have a local broker, but the processor or underwriter is very likely not local and doesn’t understand how to close the deal on time. If a deal cannot close on time, then the deal may not close. Sellers can extend the deal, but they aren’t required. Furthermore, as a listing agent, when I see a preapproval letter from one of these national companies, I know that the buyer has likely not been vetted and that the preapproval is not worth the paper it’s printed on.
I work with a few local lenders who do a fantastic job staying on top of the deal. One such mortgage broker is Jen Odell with Mortgage Express. I met Jen on a deal a few years ago and she’s been one of my top must have mortgage brokers ever since. One of the things that I love about working with Jen is that I know that she is going to gather a full file on my clients. When I receive a pre-approval from Jen, she has already gathered documents from my clients that her underwriter may request down the line. This makes for a smoother transaction and also helps get my client’s offer accepted.
Mortgage Express is a local company…. Jen works closely with her processor and underwriter who are also local. She’s not emailing someone out of state who does’nt understand our market and our timelines. Jen works holidays and weekends and if she’s not available when I call, she always texts me back with a time estimate of when I’ll hear back from her. This is huge for me.
National lenders may say that they can close a deal in less than 30 days, but if you talk to any realtor in town, they will likely have horror stories of deals that dragged on for months or that fell apart. If you’re already under contract, you cannot switch lenders without consent from the seller and there’s no guarantee that will happen.
So when I tell you that the lender does matter, please know that this is based on my experience as an experienced realtor. I want to ensure you are confident in the investment you’ve made in your home and will recommend the mortgage brokers who will find the right home financing solution for you and close on time. Anyone I recommend cares about getting you to the finish line.
